The US National Labor Relations Board has accused Apple of interfering with workers’ rights to collectively advocate for better working conditions by restricting their use of social media and the workplace messaging app Slack, the agency said Friday.
The NLRB complaint, released Thursday, accuses the iPhone maker of maintaining illegal labor rules around acceptable use of Slack, illegally firing an employee who advocated for workplace change on Slack, requiring another employee to delete a social media post and creating the impression that employees monitored through social networks.
This is the second time the NLRB has referred a complaint to Apple this month. Last week, the agency accused the company of requiring employees across the country to sign illegal confidentiality, non-disclosure and non-compete agreements and of imposing overly broad misconduct and social media policies.
Apple said in a statement issued by a spokesperson on Friday that it is committed to maintaining a “positive and inclusive workplace” and that it takes employee complaints seriously.
“We strongly disagree with these allegations and will continue to share the facts at the hearing,” the company said.
In response to last week’s complaint, Apple denied wrongdoing and said it respected the rights of its employees to discuss wages, hours and working conditions.
If Apple does not settle with the NLRB, an administrative law judge will hold the first hearing in the case in February. The judge’s decision can be reviewed by a five-member labor board, whose decisions can be appealed to federal court.
The new case stems from a complaint filed with the NLRB nearly three years ago by Janneke Parrish, who says she was fired by Apple in 2021 for playing a leading role in employee activism.
Parrish used Slack and public social media to advocate for full-time telecommuting, distribute a survey about equal pay, detail alleged gender and racial discrimination at Apple and publish open letters critical of the company, according to the new complaint.
Slack, which allows workers to create group conversations, was introduced a few years ago at Apple and has become increasingly popular as a forum for discussions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NLRB complaint says Apple has a policy that prohibits workers from creating new Slack channels without a manager’s permission. Posts about workplace issues must be directed to a manager or the “People Support” group, the complaint states.
Parrish’s attorney, Laurie Burgess, said in an email Friday that Apple had engaged in “extensive violations” of workers’ rights.
“We look forward to holding Apple accountable at trial for implementing facially illegal policies and firing employees for engaging in the underlying protected activity of calling out gender discrimination and other civil rights violations that permeated the workplace,” Burgess said.
The lawsuit seeks an order requiring Apple to reverse its allegedly illegal policies and compensate Parrish for lost income and other financial consequences of her termination.
© Thomson Reuters 2024
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